


Papyr-mania

by Giulietta



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Horrortale, Alternate Universe - Outertale, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Anger, Big Brother Sans, Chara Being Chara, Character Death, Cliffhangers, Confusion, Depressed Sans, Family Dynamics, Games, Gaster Papyrus, Gen, Innocence, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Multiverse, Papyrus Being Papyrus, Papyrus Dies, Papyrus Has Issues, Papyrus-centric, Puns & Word Play, Sentimental, Slice of Life, Undertale Genocide Route, Undertale Reset Issues, Undertale Saves and Resets, Vengeance Demon(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-04-30 02:23:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14486724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giulietta/pseuds/Giulietta
Summary: Where Chara learns being a DEFAULT OPTION leads to having the most innocent skeleton encounter a life-changing moment.* Bad news... you'll know the reason for the title after 15 chapters because of the multiverse shenanigans. Darn it.[Not sure what title or summary to use so screw it. :T]





	1. Thousandth celebration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the problem... And here's the annoyed character. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Sans is tired as s---t

 

“….” Chara sighed. Staring at the silent grey corridor, they resigned their fate in the path they chose which will eventually lead them to the smiling wrench of a skeleton. Casually strolling towards to judgment hall, the child dusted themselves from all the dirt they gathered during the battles. Asriel was constantly talking to them before he got scared and ran off somewhere. Chara twirled their knife as they approached the familiar opening, a manic smile of amusement appearing on their face. Stepping in the room, orange rays from the outside reveal red gleaming eyes from a small child’s body. Clothed in pineapple green sweater with yellow stripes, the child was moving closer to the center of the room. Swiping the knife in the air, Chara declared in a singsong voice. “I’m back~”

 

Truth be told, there was a skeleton waiting. If the human didn’t know better, his twitch was in pure irritation at their determination to come back and fight him. They laughed, walking closer for a short dialogue. At first, Chara loathed the skeleton with their entire being. Telling puns and mocking their imperfections, Sans was someone they wanted to defeat with every fiber of their soul. But later, they enjoyed his company. Sometimes, Chara and him would have an idle chat, turning sour as all their thoughts, suggestions and actions caused the skeleton to kill them instantly. As soon as he said his signature quote, Chara prepared for battle. It was time for the comedian to die for the thousandth time. Winning the battle caused Chara to look down and to congratulate him. “Glad you can make it to the _thousandth celebration of a perfect genocidal run_ , Sansy~”

 

“I knew you were sum-one who would _count_ on that.” Even if injured, Sans was still able to throw an array of surprise attacks. This was very new, but expected. They knew they could count on Sans on spicing the timelines. Instead of getting killed, they blocked it with both arms. The results weren’t pretty, having both arms heavily wounded, Chara cursed in pain and the fact that they had literally one HP left. As soon as the sentry died with his empty yet smug smirk, Chara ran off to the storage box. Getting the bandages and placing it on both arms, they began eating the legendary steaks and snow piece. Sitting down, the child took a ten-minute rest. Afterwards, they stood up.

 

“Let’s do this all over again~! You're okay with that, right partner?” They giggled.

 

* * *

 

TRUE RESET

…

..

.

[Y/Y]

 

* * *

[DAY 1]

 

'out of 858 billion RESETS... the time anomaly takes on about 549.5 billion genocide routes and succeeded approximately 203 billion times...' Sans thought, staring at the lone light bulb hanged above the ceiling. Any moment now, Papyrus is going to call him-

 

"SANS! BREAKFAST IS READY!"

 

-And start laughing because of something he remembered from last Tuesday's show with the huge rectangle Mettaton. Sans waited for five seconds as if his life depended on this constant memory of his brother's weird behavior.

 

"NYEH HEHEH~!"

 

'welp. should probably get out of the room before paps head inside my room...' Sans thought to himself, rolling out of his bed and supporting his body with his hand on the ground upon landing. Slumping on the bedside, Sans felt the nagging sense of despair and hopelessness reach him. He wasn't the type to go emo or anything, but the killing and getting killed lifestyle wasn't his thing. If the world keeps on resetting, what was the point of living?

 

"SANS! YOU LAZY BONES! GET DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

 

The last run was a complete downer, having the kid murder him on the third freaking try. Sans looked up once more at the ceiling, the world was so dark and bleak. This was it. The kid's never going to change. It's been so long since they did a pacifist run. What's making him hope for this long....? Maybe, just maybe he should simply turn to dus- No. If he's gone, what will happen to his cool bro? 'stars. i want to die...'


	2. Sans is tired as s---t

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Great Papyrus comes to the rescue?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Just checking

"GOOD MORNING BROTHER! I THINK HAVE MADE MY GREATEST-" Papyrus paused to stare at his brother walking to the seat, sitting down with an empty stare. Looking around to see if something afoul was amiss, the taller skeleton returned to the kitchen to know that nothing was wrong. The Pet Rock was alive and the Annoying Dog was nowhere to be found so... _What was worrying his brother?_

"SANS?! IS SOMETHING THE MATTER?" Papyrus asked, looking at his brother stare at his plate. Eye sockets blank and shoulders loosened up, the smaller skeleton seemed to be thinking of something. Papyrus frowned, looking at the skeleton closer. "SANS. IT'S TOO EARLY TO GO BACK TO SLEEP! WE HAVE SENTRY DUTY TO ATTEND TO!!"

"..." No reaction. This made Papyrus think the older skeleton didn't get enough sleep because of a nightmare. Carrying the older, Papyrus tasked himself to place Sans back to his room. Everyone has nightmares so the taller skeleton was sure Undyne would understand if Sans was sick because of it right?

" ~♪" Papyrus hummed a familiar tune in approval, walking up the stair to enter his brother's room. Opening the lights, the place was a mess, particularly the self-sufficient sock tornado. Papyrus rolled his eyes and went over to the bedside, staring at it with mix emotions. In horror or sheer shock, Papyrus saw the blanket as a huge bundle in the middle of the bed. Poking the bundle, it felt greasy and damp. Turning his head to stare at his sleeping brother, Papyrus asked in disbelief. "Wha-WHY?! SANS?!"

 

Still nothing. Papyrus wondered how he was going to place Sans on his bed with a cover like that. This is no good.

* * *

 

Changing plans, Papyrus left Sans' room, locked it and went to his room, fully aware how his room works. Tidy and very organized, just the way he likes it. Sans would definitely want to sleep in his race car bed for sure but there was a problem. Well, not really a problem, just a minor one really.

"SANS." Papyrus tried to wake up his brother, noticing that his brother clung to him like crazy as he tried to pry his arms off his neck. Sans face was covered by his scarf, not moving an inch. Papyrus asked his brother as gentle as he can so he won't alert the older. "SANS! YOU NEED TO LET GO SO YOU CAN REST ON THE BED."

"can...handle..." Hands gripped the crimson scarf harder than usual, the skeleton mutters some more. Papyrus knew Sans was trying to say something, but it was too soft. Papyrus realized his shift was going to start soon and tries to remove Sans' hands once more while close to the bedside. "SANS? YOU HAVE TO REST. I DON'T THINK YOU ARE CUT OUT FOR WORK TODAY. I WILL HANDLE BOTH OF OUR JOBS TODAY OKAY?"

"don't..." Sans said in a despairing voice. Papyrus froze when he heard his brother's tone, it sounded so sad and hopeless. This was bad. Papyrus held his brother to give comfort. Sans reciprocates the favor. "let's not go today papyrus... please?"

"SANS? WILL YOU TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG?" Papyrus was growing anxious, Sans was using his whole name and the 'please' word. Lying on his bed with Sans still clinging on to him like his life depended on it, Papyrus couldn't tell his expression, hugging Sans because he felt that this was the right thing to do. Sans was shaking minutely, laughing emptily before answering his brother. "just wanted to have a family activity with my bro. it's called napping, an activity passed down from generation to generation... can't hurt to bond once in a while right?"

 

"OH MY GOD SANS. ARE YOU TRYING TO PERSUADE THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO LAZE AROUND?!" Papyrus interrogated the skeleton, but a small smile crept on his face. It was true, they weren't getting enough family moments as Sans had a lot of jobs to be done while Papyrus had to train under Undyne and recalibrate his puzzles. Sans loosened his hold over his brother, sitting up to look at his laid down brother. "heheh... sorry 'bout that, but i'm serious. let's relax for today, you and me."

"HHMM... VERY WELL-UF!" Papyrus replied hesitantly before getting flopped on by his brother. Lying perpendicular to him, Papyrus was astonished how Sans was already asleep before he could finish his sentence. "SANS! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS NOT THE BED!!"

"ZZzzzszz" Papyrus felt a nonexistent vein pop from annoyance. Trying to lift himself up and move the smaller to his proper position, Papyrus realized it was surprisingly impossible even with his strong arms. "SANS! HOW ARE YOU SO HEAVY WHEN I PRACTICALLY CARRIED YOU AWHILE AGO?! ARE YOU PRANKING ME WITH GRAVITY?!"

"ZZZzzzzszzxszz" Sans drones on, making Papyrus try harder. Failing harder in the short run, the younger brother also realized the change of Zs being emitted by the skeleton. "I KNOW YOU'RE AWAKE SANS! DON'T YOU DARE LAUGH AT ME!"

"ZZZZzzzhehzzhehszz" Sans' smile got wider, couldn't help laughing at his brother's antics. It’s always fun joking with his lil’ brother. Papyrus didn't even notice Sans' using a blue spell on him, making it harder for anyone to move around. Papyrus was the type to not notice those types of things, only screaming at his reply. "SANS!!!"

 

* * *

 

One hour, forty-nine minutes, twenty-eight seconds and counting later, Papyrus is already fidgeting around his bed. He isn't the type to lie down and do nothing…

 

'That is his brother's job.' Papyrus huffed. Sans was okay with that, his Zzzs formed almost immediately after their short exchange. It only halted when Papyrus was near successful to pushing him off. Sans grumbled, hitting his brother's face with his elbow. "bro. stop moving, can't sleep with all the rustling. be one with the bed paps. be the bed."

"BUT SANS...? I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING!!" Papyrus said urgently, intuition as the backbone of his voice. Sans turned silent, not wanting to hear the next sentence but has no choice but to hear his brother's thoughts. "mind telling what's in mind?"

"I- (ARE YOU TRYING TO CONFUSE ME?! ANYWAYS,) WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES BY?" Papyrus noticed Sans' flinch at the word Human, but Sans kept it cool. Papyrus knew he was hiding something. Sitting up with a determined outlook, Papyrus pushes Sans off him with 'minimal' effort. (Not really, Papyrus was panting from exerting so much energy on that.) "SANS... IF-IF WE AREN'T AT OUR POSTS... WH-WHO WILL GREET THEM? THE HUMAN MIGHT GET LOST AND... AND I NEED TO CATCH ONE TO GAIN RECOGNITION-!! UNLESS... SOMETHING IS BOTHERING YOU BROTHER? DOES IT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE HUMAN?"

"i'll ketchup to that question later." Sans joked, chuckling to see Papyrus' eyes bulge out of his sockets. Pushing himself out of the bed, Sans shuffles his slippers to walk towards the door. "but you're right, we still got some spaghetti-ng to do."

"SANS... I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S AN IMPLIED PUN OR IMPLIED SUGGESTION TO HELP ME COOK SPAGHETTI. MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!" Papyrus yelled in frustration, his brother not helping him at all as he laughed on the way to the kitchen.


	3. Just Checking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh. The usual before the human comes over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Meeting the Human

"hey paps." Sans started while both of them were heading to their posts. Papyrus looks down to his brother. Scuffling with his hands in his jacket, Sans was once again lost in thought. Papyrus knew this wasn't going to end well, "YES SANS?"

"you know you mean the world to me, right?" Papyrus thought for a moment. All those times Sans took on multiple part-time jobs, took care of him since he was a kid, supported him all the way with his impossible ideals... Sans was the best brother in the whole underground one could ever have. Papyrus is truly lucky to have such a brother, even if said-brother is lazy ninety percent of the time. "YES. SAME GOES TO YOU TOO, BROTHER! THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS TAKING CARE OF ME!!"

"no need to thank me buddy. just know that i'll feel _bonely_ without ya." With that, Sans bumped his elbow to Papyrus' leg. Even if that was a pun, it was the 'I'm sad' type of pun. Papyrus knew Sans was still depressed over something so Papyrus picked him up and placed him by the shoulders. Surprised at the action, Sans' eye sockets turned blank and held onto Papyrus' head while Papyrus laughed in triumph. "paps! what the stars?"

"SANS! DON'T FORGET THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL ALWAYS PROTECT HIS LAZY BONES BROTHER AS WE SEE EACH OTHER HEIGHT TO HEIGHT!" Papyrus lectures him with his 'heroic' smile, earning a tap on the head by his brother as he pointed at the road. "nice one bro, but can ya give me a ride to my area? the faster i reach my station, the more work i'll finish."

 

"SANS... YOU ARE VERY CUNNING, BUT BECAUSE I'M NICE AND GREAT! I WILL LET THAT GO FOR NOW. NYEH HEHEHEH!" Papyrus laughed, running across his puzzles, deeper to the Snowdin forest near the ruin entrance. On the other hand, Sans drooped his head down, falling asleep for the how manieth time in a row.

 

* * *

 

Staring at the inactivated electric field, the taller skeleton looks at the ball on his hand and looks back at the ground contemplating. You need something of this element for the trap to work, if he remembers his brother's words right. The element was rare by itself, called...okay he forgot what it was called but it sounded cool like his name... "SO HOW DO I IMPLEMENT THIS IF I NEED THE HUMAN TO HOLD THIS?"

"!!!" Papyrus focuses his energy at a single point, staring intensely at the ball. The ball glowed orange, radiating with his energy and then...

".." Nothing happened. Papyrus' head fell down in disappointment, but lit up once more.

"I WILL GET BACK AT THIS PUZZLE LATER. I'M SURE THE SOLUTION WILL COME TO ME IN NO TIME!" Papyrus reassured himself, cheerfully jogging to his other puzzle. He had a lot of puzzles, but the skeleton had to take several things into account. First, the safety of the dogs-he meant Royal Guardsmen. Second, easy enough for the civilians who wander around the area like Snowdrake and his friends. They are children, after all. Third, tricky enough to keep the human trapped in a single area. Papyrus stopped at his tracks, staring at the golf course in the middle of his area. Some monsters were playing in the area, gaining some gold along the way. Determined on how fast and the amount of movements one made on the snowball, the taxes paid to the Royal Castle will be sent here in accordance to one’s calculated skill.

"Offt!" A monster with a huge hat fell on the snow, pulling himself back at his feet to kick the snowball to the hole. Seeing this made Papyrus recall his younger years, how Sans was cheering him on even if he was very clumsy. Yup. Their area was so kid-friendly. Combine all these factors together and Papyrus has one huge problem all together. He asked his brother's help in some of the areas, but his brother placed a measly card at the center. He said it would distract the Human if it did come over. Knowing how smart his brother was, Papyrus believed it wholeheartedly. Besides, it was word search. Not junior jumbler. Oh how difficult was that math game. He needed his brother's help on that when he was younger. It gave him headaches.

 

"hi paps." Sans cheerfully said, chuckling at how fast Papyrus turned around only to fall from his misstep. Sans pulled out his clipboard. "Surprise your bro as he recalibrates his puzzles. check. wow. you okay bro? you seemed to be chilled down to the **bone**."

"SANS! WHY ARE YOU NOT IN YOUR STATION?!" Papyrus argued. Standing up and dusting his battle attire. Sans looked around and shrugged, "tibia honest. i got bored to the bone and checked the stuff in my station. found a checklist and i guess i gotta do what's listed here."

"SANS... JUST GO BACK TO YOUR STATION!" Papyrus said, a voice mixed with uncertainty and authority. When did his brother use a checklist? Papyrus can't seem to recall. Sans was also in the same line of thought as Papyrus, staring at the checklist as well. "hmm... ok. see you in a bit bro."

"GOO- HOW DO YOU DO THAT?!" Papyrus shouted in amazement and in disbelief, realizing that no one there. His brother had yet again used a short cut. It was a common habit of the older, decreasing his time for physical activities such as walking. Turning suspiciously, the taller skeleton gained a revelation. "AND WHY DID YOU VISIT ME?!"


	4. Meeting the Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the ~~Genocide route~~ Player.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Entering Snowdin and the Inevitable.

“REALLY THOUGH!! THAT HUMAN...” Standing at the other side of the electric fence puzzle, Papyrus was discussing his thoughts to Sans. Seeing his brother point at a rock, only to reveal an unknown dusty being in front of it… It really perturbed the tall skeleton. So familiar yet so distant, the sort of feelings one gets that cannot be explained but understood.

‘IS THAT REALLY A HUMAN? THEY FEEL DIFFERENT FOR SOME STRANGE REASON…’ Papyrus wanted to say instead, but pushed the lines out. He said something safer instead, close to home but really vague. “DO I KNOW THAT PERSON???”

 

“do you not know…” Papyrus listened intently with what wisdom his brother will contribute, Sans eyes shifted to the side with his smile widening. “who you know?”

‘WAIT. SO IS THAT A _I KNOW SOMEONE I DON’T KNOW_ OR IS THAT _I DON’T KNOW SOMEONE I KNOW_ …? WHAT?!’ Papyrus nearly short-circuited with information entanglement, but doubled back at his stance before losing the conversation all together. Gaining a comeback, the skeleton will simply not use **no**. “OF COURSE I KNOW WHO I KNOW!! I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW AS MUCH AS I KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW!”

“…” Sans was unresponsive when Papyrus expected him to butt in, making him ask in an uncertain voice. “…YOU KNOW?”

 

“!!” Papyrus heard a soft footstep of the human, turning around to greet the puzzle dodging human. Emotionless and silent, Papyrus wondered if that was what Humans usually do as it certainly wasn’t the same as what Undyne told him. Sans seemed tense as well. If Papyrus doesn’t know any better, he’d think Sans would murder the child while his back is turned. That can’t be right. What has the human done to him? They should definitely be given a chance of redemption. One way would be showing them his love for puzzles! “OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES!”

‘MORE DIFFICULT THAN I THOUGHT…’ An internal voice whispered to him as Papyrus tried to initiate a conversation with the human. The Human merely moved towards him with unknown intent. No. It wasn’t unknown, it was of malice and pure amusement. The taller skeleton felt a mixture of fear, annoyance and acceptance. More on annoyance really as Papyrus felt a small burst of energy igniting as the human went closer.

“SIGH…” Looking away and excusing himself from the area, the taller skeleton walked away with a nagging voice suggesting to set the trap near the bridge on the Human. He refused, thinking that the Human must be given a chance to still be the 'Human' they are. There were a lot of chances for Redemption. Papyrus just has to believe in the goodness in the Human.

* * *

 

The Human didn’t change yet Papyrus didn’t have the heart to bring his final challenge to them. Sans seem to expect this too, making puns along the way. Moving out of the way for the Human to pass, Papyrus suddenly tells Sans that he will check around the area first to report back to Undyne. Sans accepted this and says that they’ll meet up in the house, eyes still set on the last location the Human go through. Papyrus left with a heavy feeling in his chest.

Splitting up, Papyrus went over to check the Royal Guardsmen's condition, ready to hear their report and articulate them into words or report files to Undyne. However, all he saw was dust. The skeleton had a dark feeling that it was because of the Human and the dust they were covered in, but shook his head. He didn't believe it. It must be someone else or everyone just went in break! He must be right. Papyrus thought to himself while recording the number of monsters dusted in the area. "THEY CAN'T BE BAD INHERENTLY! THEY'RE JUST CONFUSED WITH EVERYTHING! THAT'S ALL!"

Listing it down on paper, Papyrus finally sets forth back to his hometown, Snowdin. He knew that the Human had to take a quick rest and then... And then. They'll have to go through him next. "THEY'RE JUST CONFUSED. THEY THINK MONSTERS ARE BAD. MAYBE THEY'RE DOING IT FOR SELF-DEFENSE?"

 

'I HAVE TO HELP THEM!' Papyrus smiled bitterly, aware of how his brother will act. He knows he could do something about it. Surely the Human will listen, even if Flowery helped them solve the puzzles in advance. Why was Flowery helping them out? It made things a lot awkward on how the Human skipped right into the next area in a breeze.


	5. Entering Snowdin and the Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~~Spoilers for Genocide route.... Actually, the name of the route is a spoiler so let's forget about this.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Multiverse

Entering Snowdin didn’t give him a good feeling anymore. Papyrus threaded carefully as he saw all the shops and buildings were not closed down, but deserted. Not even the bar had anyone in it. Where was everyone?

“HELLO?” Papyrus called out, checking in the bunny shopkeeper’s area. Yup. Completely, empty. He didn't know where the Human was exactly, but he had an inkling that they were in the inn resting soundly for the upcoming fight. His voice told them they were going to fight in the night. Papyrus wanted to ask back why the voice thinks this would happen as well as why would the Human choose that time period which was disadvantageous for them? But then that would mean he was talking to himself. Talking to himself without even knowing the reply, that would mean he’s crazy. Papyrus was certain he wasn't crazy. Well, he doesn't need to continue this line of thought. He was near his house. Papyrus doesn't want Sans to see him in this state!

 

*Click! *

 

"WHERE'S EVERYBODY SANS?" Papyrus asked when he came in, seeing Sans quickly secure the door with the built-in locks. Sans was actively moving, preparing several food items he bought earlier. Papyrus knew what that meant. This was Sans' Survive the Apocalypse mode which he blamed entirely on the good influence of the wonderful idol Mettaton.

"paps. don't face the human anymore." Even if Sans' was in the kitchen, his voice was at a tipping point of pleading and desperation. Papyrus felt bad for going against his brother's better judgment, but he knows deep down... The human can change for the better. Papyrus sat down on the sofa and took a deep breath. He had to tell his brother... Lying was bad.

"SANS. I HAVE TO GO. BECAUSE I BELIEVE... I BELIEVE THAT THE HUMAN CAN CHANGE!" Papyrus reasoned out, only to see his brother come out of the kitchen and stare at him oddly. Papyrus knew where this was going and he just hoped some of his reasons would reach his brother's head. "DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK BROTHER! THEY JUST NEED THE RIGHT PUSH! I'M SURE OF IT! I THINK THEY'RE DOING THIS...BECAUSE THEY'RE AFRAID OF US. THAT WE SEEM SCARY TO THEM AND-"

"paps. give me the report." Sans' voice turned authoritative, this made persuading a lot more difficult. If he saw the reports, there was a slim chance that Sans is going to take him to the evacuation area because the damages the Human made was bad. Papyrus looked away.

 

" **papyrus...?** " Sans' eye socket turned dark, Papyrus felt like going to a corner and hide there for a good amount of time (but he can't because that wouldn't be a very brave thing to do). Papyrus suddenly wished his brother was back to being easy-go-lucky. This felt unnatural for him. Papyrus looked down as he revealed the encased report hidden within his armor. Sans took the report out and read it, Papyrus felt a lot smaller when his brother is angry.

"The Snow division is nowhere to be found." Sans stated. Papyrus nodded lamely, he knew Sans was watching him peripherally. Sans wasn't his brother for nothing. Seeing his brother looking down meekly, Sans sighed and placed the report back into the cylinder. "paps... look at me will ya?"

"...i don't wanna lose you bro. please understand and don't leave the house." Sans explained as Papyrus looked up. Establishing eye contact, Papyrus noticed how tired Sans was with a lot of the ordeals. Some he knew, some he didn't. All in all, Papyrus did what he knew best. He went forward and hugged his brother. Having felt his hug returned, Papyrus muttered apologies as his tears fell down. Sans clung to him all the way, both knew what they had to do later.

* * *

 

‘It was dark and misty, the best type of scenario to assassinate a Human.’ Something Papyrus felt was unfair, completely disadvantageous for his Human friend. Papyrus had no idea when he started thinking that the ‘Human’ was his friend, but it must have been when he woke up from his nap. Even if the Human was a weirdo for not liking his puzzles and having dust in their hands...

 

_"Dear Sans." Papyrus started writing, encasing his excuse letter in a neat orange letter in case his brother comes in. Placing it on his bed, the skeleton stood up. While his brother consumes almost 80-90% of the time sleeping, Papyrus only portions 20-10% of the day sleeping. It can even be less, but his brother would give him the blank stare of sadness if he did that. Fluffy Bunny is one of his first favorite books to hear before he slept as a child, having Sans read it to him personally. When he grew older, Papyrus felt unconsciously that he doesn't need to sleep anymore, something Sans denies adamantly. So, they continue on their routine, hearing Fluffy Bunny every night from his brother. And surprisingly, Papyrus still falls asleep because of this._

_Back to the mission at hand... Hopefully, Sans doesn’t wake up when he sneaks out of the house. Papyrus opens the door to see his brother standing at the side of the door entrance, Zs in the air but Papyrus knew better. The skeleton went back in, deciding that he had to take the other exit - The balcony. Using his strung-up blankets/clothes kept in his closet, Papyrus slid down and crept away. Swift and careful, he was sure Sans would understand. The Great Papyrus will see to it that the Human will change!_

 

“SO YOU HAVE COME.” Papyrus regarded, seeing the shadow of the Human from a distance. Even as he talked, the Human kept coming closer. Rude as always, yet Papyrus has to still try converting the Human into being a good person. Seeing the Human hesitate momentarily when he offered help, Papyrus thought he finally made the Human reconsider his offer. Seeing them approach again, Papyrus held his arms out with a smile. His inner voice screaming him to step back and fight. He didn’t listen. “I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN-!”

“!!” Papyrus didn’t react in time when the child pulled out a sharp object from their pocket, slicing him on the neck down to the side of his right side. Papyrus shook backwards, his body slowly crumbling to dust. The Human was smiling, revealing taunting scarlet red eyes as they watched him fall. Talking as if he was never hurt, Papyrus felt his head fall off his body.

“YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU DON’T THINK SO!” The Human was still smiling at the scene, going near him with their dusty hands. Papyrus felt the LOVE crawling around the Human’s soul, feeling their boot on his head. Papyrus closed his eyes as he knew what was to come, wishing his brother to not get angry at the Human. “I…I PROMISE.”

…

..

.

Everything turned dark.

…

..

.

But it wasn’t really the type of dark the taller skeleton thought he would see. It was more like eyes-aren’t-working type of darkness. So, he tried to open them… Papyrus didn’t know if it was working because... He just...

…

..

.

He couldn’t.


	6. Multiverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus(?) is confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Falling down

He couldn’t because he didn’t even have the energy to restore his sight.

 

However, Papyrus’ other senses were active, like the smell of… Sweets? Does that mean the afterlife offer sweets? He always thought it would be Spaghetti since the pasta dish always brings everyone together. Well almost always as the Human had avoided the pasta on the table which reminds of something important. Something to do- Sans! He had to get back to Sans, but how?! Papyrus tries moving for the second time, making a voice even with his mouth closed. “nnyummph! nnnNNNHHF!-!”

“WOW there, Other ME! Take it easy on yourself!” A too familiar voice cried out from his right side. Papyrus was startled at the sudden poke from his head, struggling to move away from the sensation. Feeling his energy start up, Papyrus waited for a short interval before gearing up and utilizing his energy. His actions caused the voice to go louder. “FLAME! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH OUR ORIGINAL SELF?! IS HE DYING?!”

‘Original? What does he mean by original?’ Papyrus thought, his energy flowing through his body like a river towards a valley. That was when a deeper version of his voice(?) spoke out to both of them. “Don’t worry Neon… He’s merely waking up from the fall.”

‘So he is dead-! Wait. So why can he feel pain on his neck? Isn’t pain not brought in the afterlife? And who is Neon?’ Burning with questions and worry for his brother and mentor back at home, Papyrus opens his eyes with a burning orange flame alighting his right eye. He was welcomed with the blinding light, sitting up quickly to cover his eyes with his hands. Readjusting the vision seemed harder here. The world felt less concrete for some reason, more magic-embedded. ‘I need to get out of here!’

“WOWIE! You recover fast! Just as expected from me!!” The voice seemed very close, sitting behind him. Papyrus placed his gloved hands down to realize that his gloves were in the shade of black. Looking around, the whole room was in black and white. A monochrome afterlife? He doubted it, staring at the flat metal table he was lying on a while ago. Turning to the side where the voice came from, Papyrus’ eyes widen in shock.

“HI ORIGINAL ME! I’M YOU from the alternate Universe called Outertale! MY NICKNAME IS NEON!” Papyrus continues to stare at the figure - The being looked just like him except he was wearing darker clothes. Not sure what color exactly as they were in an odd area. The fellow had a dark scarf with odd patterns, it was similar to something he saw in a book back home. Neon went forward and pulled out his hand. Papyrus delayed his response, unsure how to start the conversation. Shaking the other’s hand, Papyrus felt safe. Yet he knew this was the wrong time to ask, but Papyrus had to know. “I’M NOT DEAD… AM I?”

 “Well… It’s complicated.” A skeleton lookalike from the left replied.

 

'Why?' Papyrus turned to the direction. Having one eye close while the other open, the skeleton was leaning his right arm on a table filled with documents as the other hand held on to a newspaper front. “You are dead in your timeline, but not in this universe because I’m you and you’re me.”

“WAIT... WHAT?” Papyrus’ memories shifted, remembering something with how similar this person looked with another person from his past. Donned in a long black coat, his skull had a crack on his right side upward while a crack going downward on the opposite side. This was complemented with a white sweater and long black jeans. It was him, but not him. But Papyrus wants to deny that that wasn’t him. When the skeleton smiled at him, Papyrus felt a sharp pain from his head, flinching from the gaze. “Is there something wrong?”

“I-I NEED TO GO HOME…” Papyrus muttered, moving away from this stranger. He trusted the person called Neon more on his safety than this being in front of him. The skeleton sighed, looking down for his glasses to slant from his face. “Why do I have the knack in intimidating the others?”

“coz you look _ghastly_ familiar, but hey! you can say that they get out _gaster_ when they see **papyrus the fourth** come in with his brother’s gift - ‘most badass chef in the underground’ apron.” A lazy version of his voice claims, making Papyrus turn to the door. It was him but with a more lenient clothes preference. Wearing a gray jacket and black shorts, he held a cigarette stick in between his fingers while resting on the door. “sup.”

 

The scary yet familiar-looking figure gave out an irked hum before speaking. “Yellow. Might I remind you that we have already moved on with numbering ourselves to color names? And stop it with the dad puns, we need to give a refresher for uh...What color name did we give him?”

“OH-HO! I KNOW THIS ONE! His name's ORANGE.” Neon chirped, implying it to the person he rested his arm on - the shoulder of the original Papyrus. Yellow chuckled, his hands in his jacket pocket and gave a shooing motion. Papyrus fidgeted at the sudden attention of people who-look-but-not-really-look like him. Neon continues with his speech without even stopping for a breather. “So the one wearing a long coat is Flame from Echotale while the one with the lazy eyes is Yellow from Underswap!”

 

…

 

..

 

“WHAT?” Papyrus could’ve sworn he saw the hoodie skeleton laugh at his answer.


	7. Falling down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus didn't know this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Describing yourself

 “…NO. I’M SERIOUS. I DON’T GET IT.” Papyrus answered, looking at all of them as he did not really understand the situation at all. His Outertale-self gasped comically, eyes bulging out from its sockets.

“i thought so… like last time and the other time… nyeh. tibia honest? it’s fine with me.” Yellow gave a good-natured shrug before putting the cigarette off. Walking in as if he owned the place, Yellow gave a bunch of letters to Flame. Flame ripped open one of them and frowned, standing up while muttering “sorry” and “pay the bills” before leaving.

“YOU REALLY DON’T REMEMBER?!” Neon asked again, disbelief in his eyes. Papyrus shook his head, tired of shaking his head for not knowing anything. It made him frustrated when he thought of his inadequacy; Sans must’ve had a handful for taking care of him. Papyrus gripped his hands tight. ‘Please don’t be dead yet, Sans…’

 

Yellow coughed and waved his hand for Papyrus to follow him. With a tug from the scarf, his darker wearing-self urged him to follow his ‘Underswap’ version. As he had no choice nor direction of getting out of here, Papyrus carefully placed his legs to the ground, pressing it gently all the while feeling a thousands of pricks pierce his feet. Suppressing his scream, Papyrus steadily rambled forward. Neon held his hand out in concern, having the Original hold onto it before letting go. Yellow looked at them and looked back at walking.

* * *

 

“so where do you wanna start?” Yellow asked. Papyrus was about to say ‘where the exit was’ but he realized that it would be useless coming back if he was an invisible soul. “HOW ABOUT THE REFRESHER?”

“oh yeah. that. huh… imagine  **reality** as one huge spaghetti dish. each action is equivalent to one noodle strand... so each noodle strand gets three outcomes: do a banana split for smaller noodle strands, twirl with the other noodle strands or get cut off from the rest. this leads to an array of differing end points. these varying end points are paths called **timelines**. this is also applied to create different perspectives towards a concept such as LOVE, MAGIC, etc. thus, it's the multiverse theory in principle in practice.” Yellow started with his hands in the air, trying to form an imaginary rainbow shape. “moving back to the causality of action, that’s what the human wants to find out. yet, since the kid keeps repeating the genocidal route, the human’s probably _messed_ up with their inner demon.”

“DEMON?” Papyrus asked, curious what type of demon would the Human in his world be. About the spaghetti anagram, on the other hand, it sounded awfully similar as if that's how he'll explain the theory. “!! IS THAT THE REASON WHY THE HUMAN GONE BONKERS?!”

“sometimes yes, sometimes no. as you already encountered the human, you must have realized something familiar to them right? _feel it in your bones_ type of feeling.” Yellow chuckled. Papyrus nodded eagerly, wanting to know more, ignoring the pun in the last part. Neon flicked a small bone at Underswap’s direction, not necessarily wanting to hurt him when it landed. Swap moved his head, dodging it from mere nano-meters. He brings out his pointing finger in the air, causing Neon to look up and gasp at the realization he got tricked. “ok. so i have to break this down for you again. the kid is a _time anomaly_. they can SAVE and LOAD similar to the games your alphys played in the net. right now, they’re being controlled by the demon _you told me back then_  is called chara. she’s turning your brother’s life into a living underhell and coz there’s what we call a ripple effect, the other sanses will also experience the same stuff if we don’t contain it. capiche?”

“THAT’S HORRIBLE!! ER-HOW MANY UNIVERSES ARE OUT THERE?” Papyrus backtracked; the whole science thing is trying to infiltrate his head but has a hard time settling down. Neon gripped his chin with his two fingers, “Probably a LOT since your universe is the original one. How about thinking in the thousands or millions?”

“REALLY?” Papyrus deadpanned. The vague answer wasn’t really helpful. In fact, it made the guilt worse as there could be hundreds of lives in each universe that would get ruined all because of one universe, his universe to be exact. But how will he help, if he doesn't remember anything? “AND WHAT ABOUT MY MEMORIES?”

“it’ll come to you naturally just like last time so it’s hunky dory. oh and call me swap, stretch, rus, second or yellow... whatever's fine.” He opened a door, revealing pure darkness. Neon readily jumped, screaming something incomprehensible. Papyrus stepped back but Yellow grabbed on to him. Rushing the other one forward, Yellow looked back at the hallway. “get in! flame’s bro might teleport any minute from now. don’t want to ruin this pap’s reputation now, do ya?”

“OF COURSE NOO-OOOOOTTT!!” Papyrus screamed, falling down to the abyss with his smaller version holding his scarf while screaming in sheer delight. Yellow closed the door behind him as he fell, declaring. “free fall~!”

* * *

  
…

..

.

..

…

“HOW LONG IS THIS FALL… SWAP-STRETCH?” Papyrus asked. Finally recovering from the shock, he realized they have been falling endlessly for the last five minutes. In a semi-leaning-on-wall stance on mid-air, Yellow looked at the headfirst to death stance of Papyrus and then looked down, “didn’t think of that before, good job. hmmm... this area doesn’t really affect time in your area, but it’ll feel like four hundred more minutes, buddy.... then we land on a coach or fall on fell to cushion our fall.”

“WHO’S FELL?!” Papyrus uses his arms to enact swimming motions, making him horizontal all the way to finally vertical direction. Neon looked at Papyrus with sparkling eyes; both hands were at the back of his head as if he was relaxing. “FELL BELONGS TO UNDERFELL, PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD AND IS VERY MEAN BECAUSE HE SAYS HE WAS BORN MEAN! WE SOMETIMES CALL HIM EDGE OR MOM AND I THINK HE'S OKAY WITH THAT! OH AND! HIS COLOR NAME IS CRIMSON!”

“MOM?” Papyrus raised an eyebrow, but Yellow was laughing at the statement. “nah. he’s just a tsunderplane. strict and bossy, he thinks he knows it all, but he’s a worrywart mom most of us never had in our lifetime. though, we can also call papyrus the tenth - mom too. his pies are _to die for_ , literally.”

“HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE PAPYRUS IN STORYSHIFT. HE BAKES SPAGHETTI PIES AND IS OF ROYALTY! ISN’T THAT COOL?! NOT THE SPAGHETTI PIE, BUT THE ROYALTY PART I MEAN!!” Neon’s grin was so childish and innocent. Something Papyrus can’t find himself to do as his intuition is screaming for him to go back home. “…”

“oh yeah. our bird friend is rounding up everybody so we’re going to have a meeting… i know you have amnesia again, but i'm too lazy to be the leader." Yellow pulled out a scroll and passed it to Papyrus. Catching it, Papyrus unrolled it to see a list of pictures with their color name and universe beside each other. Most of them looked like him, but with different clothing and-is that him as a baby?! "you gotta memorize the _bones_ and their color name suggested by echopap. you know the one who owns the house we left earlier? yeah that one coz me and outertale aren’t suited for that sort of thing..”

“I AM! IT’S JUST THAT SWAP DOESN’T TRUST ME!!” Neon insisted, flinging his scarf to the side and grumpily stomped on pseudo-ground. “…Sigh. When will anyone appreciate my efforts?”

“sorry ‘bout that bro. just that the others haven't _pound_ your true potential as leader of the organization. you’ll get them next time.” Yellow pats Neon’s head. Neon retorted back by flipping Yellow away from him, anger at the realization that the other used a pun on him. Yellow spun, having zero like gravity at his side, returning to his original position with a jug of honey. Neon screamed at him. "Enough with the puns!!"

* * *

 

 

THE ~~IMPRESSIVE~~ ~~TERRIBLE~~ GREAT PAPYRUS'( ~~es?~~ ) L ~~OL~~ IST

 

Orange – Undertale

Yellow - Underswap

Maroon – Swapfell

Crimson – Underfell

Flame - Echotale

Neon – Outertale

Blood – Horrortale

Rust –Fonttale

Magenta – Lusttale

Gold – Storyshift

White - Angeltale

Tomato – Littletale

Brown – Mafiatale

Rose – Dancetale

Mauve - Poketale

Tangerine – Piratetale

Burgundy – Fantasy Tale

Red – ReaperTale

Brick – Beasttale

Vermillion – SchoolAU

 

[The list goes on and on, reaching to Papyrus' feet. Yellow and Neon laughed when they saw Papyrus' jaw comically drop in amazement.]


	8. Describing yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too much characters and so much research done on each one....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Finding Out

…

..

.

..

...

‘THERE IS SO MANY…’ Papyrus frowns, sad at how many universes will be affected all because of this ‘DEMON’ in his Human friend’s body. Going back up the list, Papyrus strikes up a conversation before his mind wanders back to how everyone is doing, especially Sans and Undyne. Hopefully, they’re still alive.

"CAN YOU DESCRIBE MY-UHMM… OTHER SELVES’ ATTITUDE?" Papyrus inquired, eyebrow raised when he saw the lazy skeleton directly drink a bottle of honey without any side dishes. Neon was asleep, off like a light. Was he used to sleeping when he’s falling? Hopefully not, that might cause an accident. “I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING… SINCE YOUR UNIVERSE IS CALLED UNDERSWAP, DOES THAT MEAN I BECAME-no...”

 

“papyrus yes~” Underswap was smiling with a hand in a gun position pointing in front of Papyrus. Papyrus’ realization face slowly turned into utter horror, unbelieving of the being in front of him. Yellow held Neon on his side, securing him before they land to the unforgivable land. “accept me paps. accept your _inner laziness_.”

“NOOOO!!” Papyrus yelled while clutching both his head while still holding the scroll. The Zs of the other skeleton continues, unaware of how loud the two interacted. How the skeleton got this ability was a mystery? Swap laughed and pats Papyrus’ shoulder, “okay. okay… time to get serious and describe ourselves under the looking glasses.”

“you already know me. lazy smoker who loves honey and puns. your _pun-ny_ side in short. you also heard about tsun-scar face. great strategist, but a huge softie to merciful people. he also said he got a bone to pick with me. dunno which bone, but who cares...? swapfell is the usual calm one, but gets quite icy when you mess or insult with his bro who acts like fell but more.. it’s hard to describe. oh yeah. me and swapfell are the only ones wholly aware of the SAVE LOAD thing.” Underswap Papyrus slurped his honey before continuing. “moving on, echotale makes good sweets. i swear with my heart and soul, you’ll love them once ya try it. nice like mafiatale paps who thinks he can only cook pasta dishes alone, saying that the others are _impastable_. but! he’s a sharp shooter, should bring him to the carnival if i have time in my hands.”

Yellow paused, turning his jar for gravity to act on it, if they have gravity here. It feels like nothing’s changing at all, seeing the same darkness over and over. “you met outertale, the one on my shoulders? yeah. kinda important coz you forgot this… you, me, fell, swapfell and outertale are the _craters_  of the papyrus association. outertale having the widest range of freedom aside from me and swapfell. guess he had the stars to blame for that.”

 

“WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?” Papyrus is looking down. Yellow looks and rests his elbow on the other. “based on the universes’ name, horrortale is a huge guy with rough teeth, but he’s as innocent as a baby bone, like littletale. too bad, you can’t say the same with their bros. they’re real boners, those two.”

“for fonttale… don’t get to close to the guy, manipulative in every bad _day_. Maybe i can’t trust him coz he was part of the reason for his brother’s death.” Yellow got a bit quiet when he said that, remembering the past. Papyrus looked down, remembering his brother. Placing his hand on his chest, he closed his eyes to feel internally the energy connection he has with his brother. His brother’s still alive. It’s just that their connection is faint, very faint because he’s dead and Sans isn’t. 'GOOD. HE'S STILL ALIVE.'

“lusttale is borderline gay and motherly as his universe promotes ‘love.’ too bad he’s a forever alone or we wouldn’t have taken him in. nyeh. angeltale is pretty much a papyrus with wings. we made him our _dimension caller_ , going around to call the others when we want to have a meeting or a dessert party. storyshift is like lusttale, but leans to the mother side. we often call him _the queen_ even if he’s a prince and not mom since we have fell taking that role.” Yellow suddenly whistles, noticing a small white light from down below. “we’re midway oh-right. dancetale likes to teach us how to dance. not like i’d like to _tango_ myself or anything, just feels wrong that he _waltz_ in on our lives since dancing isn’t in our bones? maybe we’re born with _left feet_? nyeh whatever. poketale is you as a gym leader. **gotta catch them all** type of guy. wait, you don’t know pokemon? where have you been? just kidding with ya, pokemon are small adorable critters that beat you to pulp or heal you from your wounds. a gym leader’s like a…a badge giver who gives badges after you show him how well you took care of your pokemon-partners-ish?”

“HOW ABOUT PIRATETALE? DOES THE OTHER ME USE A SHIP AND SOAR THROUGH THE SEAS?” Papyrus asked, remembering the pirate flag that was Undyne’s gift. Yellow let’s go of the jar, having it fall slower than them. Was that normal? Papyrus wasn’t sure, he wasn’t the type to study about gravity. His brother does- “yup. piratetale also has different type of **swords** for display, if you know what i mean. sometimes wonder if his bro learned how to use them. heh. fantasytale is us who was a human in the past. kinda cool, but the thought might get _under your skin_ if you realize how you died. since he’s human, he can’t summon out the gaster blaster- you also don’t know that? man. i feel old.”

“I THOUGHT ONLY SANS CAN SUMMON THOSE?” Papyrus tilted his head. Yellow shushed him, waving his free hand. “you can do it too. it’s our uber special attack, but the blasters are a lot thinner than sans coz we're thin...? nyeh. so we go on to reapertale where he monitors the underlife-i mean afterlife with the lost souls. he’s a good listener and judge, but still got the papyrus **forgiveness** in him. we have beasttale who is currently a child with an overly-protective san… reset happened and that’s how it ended. we also have a schoolau member, but he’s often busy with work. ops! how _space flies by us_ , we're here-”

 

*SNAP!*

 

After the loud sound, everything turned pitch dark. Papyrus tries to look around, seeing Underswap and Outertale disappear from his sight. Suddenly, something grabbed onto his soul, squeezing it dry. He made a choke-like gasp, struggling to keep it together. The area seemed to be sucking his energy dry. This wasn't good. Papyrus could feel his consciousness leave him...

 

…

..

.

 

"!!!" A sharp pain went from his spine, making the skeleton jolt awake to find himself in midair falling. The whole background was not black, but white. Something was floating about, it looked like numbers-

“ARGH!!” Papyrus fell butt first on the white ground. Stumbling to get back his feet, Papyrus had never felt so sore his whole life. Looking around, he realized he was in a blank plane. And lo! There was Yellow and Neon talking to each other while waiting for him. Papyrus went forward, running to catch up.

"how was the _fall_?" Yellow asked, being punched mere seconds by Neon. Papyrus felt left out, staring at them. Neon sighed, staring at his friend with a deep frown. Looking at Papyrus, Neon scratches his head with an apologetic smile. "That wasn't what he meant. I promise. He's asking how the security process felt before coming here."

"PAINFUL AND SUFFOCATING." Papyrus answered tiredly, still trying to regain lost energy. The moment really sapped the energy off him, reminds him his first time sparring with Undyne. Neon turned, walking towards the mist. Yellow rubbed his face and yet he yawned. "ok paps. we gotta go to the misty hallway which will lead to our new base since glitchy ruined the last one with his _error shindig_."

"GLITCHY. WHO'S GLITCHY?" Papyrus stated. Yellow walked on, pretending he didn't hear that. He sighed, having no choice in the matter. All he can hope now, was that he could come back home and at least be able to help his brother.


	9. Finding out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Huh. Papyri made a house somewhere in the gaps of the multiverse....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Alternate Universes

“UHMM… DO YOU OR ANYONE KNOW HOW I CAN GET BACK TO MY WORLD?” Papyrus asked, hoping they do have a way. He really needs to see Sans; he has a bad feeling of what is happening to his brother. The misty hallway also wasn't helping either, walking for more than half an hour long or even longer. Papyrus didn't know what to do anymore, he just has a strong feeling that he really needs to go back. Neon answered his question instead, seeing as Yellow turned silent. “YOU CAN ONLY GO BACK IF THE HUMAN RESETS…”

“BUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SANS?” Papyrus asked, watching Neon’s frown deepened. 'Why are they silent?'

“SANS WILL REMEMBER EVERYTHING, UNLIKE MOST OF US…” Neon stares at Yellow momentarily, “YOU’LL SEE SOON.”

“??” Papyrus had a question mark over his head, wondering what the skeleton meant. Yellow, who was at the front of the group, halts and waves his hand engulfed with whitish magic. After waving it, a golden door appears which upon opening, revealed a huger version of his house in Snowdin, and added with several features respectively. Another thing to note was the sudden appearance of color. From black to white, everything had color now. Underswap's jacket was color orange while Outertale's clothes and scarf was a deep blue hue with some yellow accessories.

 

“we’re home.” Yellow declares and with that, vanished right in front of them. Papyrus looked left and right in worry, facing Neon for help. Neon growled with his teeth clenched, but exhaled sadly. "I APOLOGIZE FOR MY FRIEND'S ATTITUDE. HE USUALLY DOES THIS FROM TIME TO TIME."

"I SEE..." Papyrus held his gloved hand out, amazed to see snowflakes drop down the contained area. Walking closer to the house, Papyrus asked a loud from pure interest. "HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?"

"I WISH I COULD TELL YOU THE ANSWER, BUT I DON'T REMEMBER... IT SEEMS MOST OF US, IN ALL THE VARIOUS WORLDS, HAVE OUR MEMORIES FRAGMENT WHEN WE FALL. LIKE FOR EXAMPLE WOULD BE... YOU. BECAUSE YOU DIED IN THE PAST, YOU FORGOT ABOUT ALL OF US AND THIS WHOLE ORGANIZATION. YOU SHOULD ASK SWAPFELL FOR MORE DETAILS SINCE SWAP WOULD BE TOO LAZY TO ANSWER YOU...” Neon pulls out the keys and opened the door. Papyrus looked at the snowman beside the door with the two identical mailbox beside it. Both of them were empty.

* * *

 

"HORROR-I MEAN BLOOD... HOW DID YOU GET IN?" Neon asked, voice sounding dubious. Papyrus had to pause as well. In front of them was what Underswap called a nice giant version of him. That was an understatement. Horror(?) him was not only taller, but also had beady eyes and jagged teeth with some red on it. He was staring at them while holding the remote.

“?” Horrortale, code name Blood, places the remote down the table and replies. "I actually have no idea."

"DID WE LOCK YOU INSIDE?" Neon looked down at the key and look back up. Blood's beady eyes look around and shook his head. "I don't think so. I just found myself in here. Do you think brother would notice?"

"LET ME CHECK." Neon went close to the clean sock pile and stuffed his hands in it. He looks up, a monitor emerges from the wall. In the screen listed a number of codes and acronyms. Neon touches the screen and scrolls down. "OH. HE HASN'T NOTICED YET, BUT IT'S OKAY BLOOD. YOU RECENTLY FELL FROM YOUR UNIVERSE."

"Oh..." Blood bowed his head in shame, making Papyrus feel sad for him. Going towards his horror self, Papyrus patted his shoulder with a reassuring smile. "IT'S OK. IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT."

"Yeah... I wish I can recall how I died. *SIGH* I just hope brother eats properly." Blood tries his best not to make it sound sad. Papyrus removed his hand and this time, patted his hand as hard as he can on the back. This act always made everyone happy, Undyne taught him how. "DO NOT WORRY OTHER ME! REST ASSURED! I'M SURE THAT LAZY BONES WILL EAT HEALTHY FOOD WHILE YOU'RE GONE!"

"KING ASGORE!" Neon nearly screamed, panic evident from his voice. Both of them jumped in surprise, looking at the fidgeting skeleton. Moving away from the screen, Neon said in a hurried voice before leaving the house. "BLOOD! TAKE CHARGE OF THE HOUSE AND SHOW ORANGE AROUND THE HOUSE. I HAVE TO GO. MY BROTHER IS LOOKING FOR ME!"

 

*BANG! *

 

"So... You want to check how your brother is doing? You have the authority." Horrortale smiled wearily, seeing that only they were left. Yellow was probably drinking honey to his full content. Papyrus nodded rigorously, "CAN YOU SHOW ME THE WAY?"

"Of course! But I'll check how my brother is doing first, right? Nyoh-hohoh!" Blood marched away to an unknown door near the stairway, something his original house never had. Walking at another hallway, portraits of varying types were displayed there: a swirl of colors labelled Andromeda; a picture of the classic bone; a sexy female skeleton laying sensually; portrait of a small family, one of them would be him when he was a baby; picture of the sunset; a golden flower; and many more. But the one that caught his attention the most was the picture within the door Blood opened, it showed a huge crowd of monsters and the Human at the middle of it. There was him, his brother, Undyne, Dr. Alphys, King Fluffybuns and even Flowey. There were so many familiar as well as unfamiliar monsters in the portrait, everyone looked so happy.

 

"Can you give me your hand? The machine works when specific people use them." Blood requested, showing the device asking for a specific SOUL energy. Papyrus tore his gaze away from the portrait and placed his hand on the panel. Glowing a warm orange hue, the huge screen lit up. Blood urged him to go to the sofa at the opposite wall, grabbing hold of the keyboard-like remote.


	10. Alternate Universes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They watch Horrortale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Painful Realization

"All righty then! My timeline first as promised." Blood comments, looking down at the keyboard and back up. Papyrus watched his Horror self executing the process, remembering to go to home page first to check the coordinates for his timeline. Afterwards, he needs to input more numbers and words found in different profiles of the monsters in the popped-up website to... Then finally, upon entering the final page that asks for yet another password, he'll be able to enter the current time with the coordinated location site. Well, that's the gist of it, anyway. Papyrus wonders why it has to be so difficult and long to do.

 

INITIATION SEQUENCE

 

....

 

ACTIVATED.

 

[a list of numbers pop out, flowing down 1s and 0s. Both of them watched in anticipation on what came.]

 

"REMIND ME AGAIN HOW YOUR BROTHER ACTS LIKE?" Papyrus questioned, unsure if Blood knew about his current short-term amnesia state. Blood moved his lower jaw away from his upper jaw farther than the usual. "He's the coolest brother I ever have, even if he's my only brother and a lazy bone. He isn't in good terms with Undyne and he holds an ax. Oh! There he is right now!"

 

"!!" Papyrus covered his mouth when he saw how Sans looked at the screen. Having a cracked broken skull and a bloody ax behind him, Horrortale Sans was sleeping in his sentry station. Usual tranquil blue jacket covered in blood, Papyrus couldn't believe that was one version of his brother. He looked so... So!

 

"Poor Human. They won't be able to meet with the Great Papyrus!" Blood interrupted him, looking at another screen with a Human covered in a simple dress. Dusting their knife and hands from the dust, Papyrus realized that that was the same instance he had with his Human. That meant Blood fell because of them. Worse part here was, Blood doesn't remember. "That's strange. I was sure I typed the right code... Why do I last recall making dinner with my brother then? MAYBE... This screen must be showing the tomorrow of my fall. I must have fallen last night!"

"..." Was it just Papyrus or had the room turn more humid, sweating anxiously and hoping his other self wouldn't ask for his opinion. Fortunately, Blood didn't do this, but noted another particular thing. "Why is my scarf hidden on the pile of snow underneath the Human? It isn’t even hidden properly-WAIT!"

"!!!" Papyrus prepared to do some damage control, but was shock with what came after. "Since I fell yesterday, it's just pure logic that someone would find my fallen scarf. In this case, it would be the Human! But then, would the Human tell my brother about her findings? NYEH? Why is the Human running away? They still haven't talked to my brother yet!"

"YEAH... STRANGE." Papyrus adds, looking away and wondering if his brother is feeling the exact same way when he had fallen. While the human scurried off, the other screen showed Horror Sans stirred from his sleep. Papyrus was creeped out with the crimson eye found in Horror Sans’ left eye socket. His smile wasn’t the usual lazy smile; it looked kind of manic and a bit loopy.

 

_“pap? shift is over. time to head home.” Sans called out. But when no one replied, his smile lowered a bit and vanished. Leaving his post, Sans appeared at the intersection where his brother usually wanders into. “hey! come on buddy. where are ya? this isn’t a joke…!!”_

_"bro..?" Picking up the red scarf from the snow, Sans' left iris turned wider but with the pupil gone smaller. Instead of crying, he laughed. It was hollow to the sound, mad when watched by its audience. After he stopped laughing, his eye sockets turned blank while holding the scarf. "welp. i didn't expect an idiot to take a SLICE of you, buddy... could've been better... or worse if i can say."_

_*crack*_

_"?" Sans stared at the distance, hearing the casual pitterpatter of snow and... a soft yet sudden crack of a twig at the midst of the woods. Unknown footsteps? His smile stretched wider. Summoning his ax, Sans placed the red scarf gently down the snow. "imma get ya later bro. i gotta find that brother killer and rip the heart outta their parade. hang around 'til then... okay?"_

 

Was it just him or did Papyrus hear the scary Sans last word sound broken. Blood talked, voice with a tint of sadness. “Nyoo hohoho.. The human didn’t do it, brother! Don’t blame it on them!”

Knowing what was to come next, Hide-and-Seek-with-the-Human... Papyrus looked slightly away from the screen, afraid of the jump scares or scary scene that was to come. Watching it on the perspective of the Human, Papyrus was never the type to watch horror movies. It was always Undyne and Sans. The Human was running, they too seemed to know that their time living was soon to end. The whole aura of the forest had lost its calming silence. Instead, it was replaced with frightening sounds of animals being sliced off, stabbed or mutilated from unknown areas. The source of violence was fast approaching the Human.

 

_"Almost there..." The Human whispered to themself, running as fast as their feet can handle. Seeing the dim yellow light nearby, the Human ran faster towards it. It's as if the Human knew the steps and obstacles in the area, jumping and sliding with ease. They held a soft confidence with the way they moved. They were about to approach Snowdin soon, as if knowing that there was a skeleton after them._

 

"GO HUMAN! YOU CAN DO IT!" Blood was cheering for the Human to reach the village first, still unknowing of the cause of his death. Papyrus was now looking at the door. The sound effects were traumatizing enough. He didn't want to get nightmares from this, he isn't a baby bones anymore. He can't ask Sans to sleep with him just to comfort him from his nightmares. That was so...so un-Papyrus of him!

 

_"Ah!" They yelped in surprise, lost balanced because of a small bone conveniently lying around. Standing up as fast as they can, the Human felt a cold gaze behind them. Game Over for them it seems._

 

"..." Papyrus and Blood watched in transfixed horror as the screen showed Sans behind the Human. The Human was shaking, fear emanating from her frame. Sans walked closer, holding his ax hidden behind him.

 

_"don't you know how to greet a pal?" Sans asked, his voice dead with cold fury and false cheeriness. The Human, seeing their path blocked with tall bones, turned and shakily raised their hand to meet with his._

 

"boo!"

 

Someone whispered from behind them, making both skeletons jump off the sofa. Turning while standing, Papyrus and Blood saw his Underswap version holding a cigarette behind the sofa. The scream of the Human was heard behind them, making Blood turn around. However, Yellow held the remote and closed it. Blood frowned, "Yellow! How could you?! I wanted to see what brother will do with the Human. Undyne said we have to bring the Human alive and knowing him, he might chop their hands off to make hand dogs!"

"sorry pal. this place is off-limits for a reason." Yellow placed the remote on the table. Blood was about to protest, but Yellow hushed him with a question. "you mind coming with me to the groceries? we _mustard_ finished all the supplies in the last paparazzi party."

"Urgh... If you remove the puns, sure." Blood looked at Yellow and back at Orange. Blood's beady eyes blinked as he saw Yellow stare at Orange. Papyrus saw his underswap version mouth a 'you are welcome' before slinging his arm around Blood, with difficulty judging with their height difference. "shortcut!"

**Author's Note:**

> To whoever reads this, you know who I am. >:)


End file.
